Monday, November 5, 2012

Meet Leo From The Life List




News Flash! November 7 and 8 are two free download days for The Life List on amazon.com.




Today we meet Leo from Chrissy Anderson’s The Life List. He’s a tall, sexy, brilliant investment banker with a temper and a guarded heart. Leo was one of three adopted children whose parents couldn’t afford to send him to college. He knows he’s of German, Irish, and Native American descent and wants to be somebody. He worked full-time in a blue collar job while attending private college in the Bay Area. He is bluntly honest, knows who he is, and you never have to guess with Leo. He wears his heart on his sleeve, is a loyal friend until you burn him, and is fiercely protective and jealous. His quick-temper and territorial nature combine to be his biggest draw and his biggest flaw. If Leo is not hard at work, he can be found drinking beer or working out at the gym while obsessing about Chrissy – the first and only woman he’s ever truly loved.

Hello, Leo. Thanks for taking a few minutes to talk to us. Did you ever think that your life would end up being in a book?
Not at all. I’m a very private person, and I don’t like a lot of drama, but it just so happens that I fell in love with a woman who is the complete opposite of me, and that’s how I ended up as one of the main characters in Chrissy Anderson’s real life love story, The Life List. I hope to God I’m around by the time she writes the final chapter of the last book in The List Trilogy, The Hope List, because that’s how much I love that woman.

(Swoon) Are you for real? Well, ahem, I guess that would be a yes and a no. Anyway, tell us about your favorite scene in the book.
Hands down, it’s the make out scene from the night I met Chrissy at Buckley’s. I thought for sure she was going to let me get out of that car without a kiss. She was definitely interested in me, but I got a sense that she was afraid of something. Little did I know just how HUGE that something was! Anyway, her words really tried to persuade me to exit the car without making a move, but when she kept talking and talking as a way to keep me from exiting, that’s when I knew there would be a kiss. The scene really happened in real life, and she did an amazing job of recapturing the intensity of it in that chapter.

Wow. I need a glass of sweet tea to cool off that scene in my head. While I’m getting that, tell us what impression you make on people when they first meet you? How about after they've known you for a while?
I’ve been told, mostly by Chrissy, that I can come off as a real asshole. I’m not at all though, I’m just guarded. I like to get a good feel for the person I’m first meeting before I jump in and give them my life story. I’m a good judge of character, and I know pretty quickly if you’re someone I want to let into my world. If you are, then watch out, because I have a very dark sense of humor, and I tell it like it is. We’ll have a good time together if you can be real. I hate phonies, namedroppers, and people that are hell bent on showcasing their careers or how much money they make. If you’ve known me for a while, I’m pretty sure you’d say I’m one of the most reliable and trustworthy people you’ve ever met.

Do you have any brothers? Oh, never mind. What's the worst thing that's happened in your life? What did you learn from it?
Oh, man…If you asked me that before Chrissy started the sequel, The Unexpected List, I would’ve said finding out it she was dragging her feet on getting a divorce. Finding out she was married didn’t bother me half as much as she feared it would. I was already crazy in love with her, and I thought, “Hey, she’ll be divorced in eight months tops, and we can start our lives together.” When I realized it wasn’t going to work out that way, I flipped out.

But, like I said, that shitty stuff was before something even shittier happens in The Unexpected List. Unfortunately, I’m not allowed to reveal what that shitty thing is right now because the book isn’t out yet, and I’ll spoil it! Let’s just say my world gets turned upside down, and I potentially lose one of the most important people in my life. From the experience that Chrissy wrote for me, I’ve learned not to take one single day of my life for granted and more importantly, not one single person I love.

Whoa. Does The Life List come with pictures? I’m sure readers would love to see if you look as good as you sound. What’s the best trait your author has given you? What’s the worst?
Integrity means everything to me. I try to live my life with truth, honor, and respect, and I think Chrissy did an excellent job of making those things integral characteristics of Leo. At times in The Life List I’m forced to go outside of my integrity comfort zone. Especially when I found out Chrissy was married, and she had lied to me so many times. But, I had fallen in love with parts of her that trumped those less than attractive things, and I found myself forgiving her for things I’d NEVER forgive other people for.

Chrissy also gave me a lot of anger. I’m not saying I’m not an angry person, because I can be when it’s deserved. But, the anger she gave me in The Life List made even me flinch sometimes! I’ve been told that my character gets quite angry again in The Unexpected List. Makes me wonder what Chrissy does next!

I can’t wait to find out. Well, Leo, Chrissy says that’s all the questions I can ask. Feel free to come back anytime, though. You sound like a keeper. Readers, if you missed my interview with Chrissy herself, scroll down and take a look. And I hope you'll come back on Wednesday for an excerpt from the book.

About the author:
Chrissy Anderson is the author of The Life List and the people, their quirks, and the major events of her story are derived from personal life events. She sees bits and pieces of her checkered past in almost every woman she encounters, and she wants to help them, tell them they’re NOT crazy. Chrissy’s choices were stupid and sometimes sleazy, but, unfortunately, not all too uncommon.


Chrissy currently lives in Portland, Oregon, with the love of her life and her beautiful daughter. A former fashion executive, she is now a writer, wife, and mother, who spends her life doing exactly what she always wanted, doting on those she loves.